Daughter of the God of Tides
by FebruaryBabes02
Summary: What if, when the Gods decided to grant Percy immortality, he said yes? This is the story of Astraea Jackson, a child who doesn't know who her parents are or what she is. This is the story of Percabeth finding eachother again after 12 years. Prologue up!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my first Percy Jackson story, and I hope it is alright! Please review and tell me what you think!**

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><p>The stars are the only things that stay the same in a lifetime. I know they aren't immortal like any sort of God, but God's can kill, God's can die, while stars glitter in the sky, not concerned with death, or destruction.<p>

The stars have been the only constant in my life. My father left before I was born, and my mother left me before I turned two. A faint blur of blonde curls like an angel's is the only memory I have of my mother.

I was the only child I knew that had both my parents presumed alive, yet I had no contact with either one.

I had lived with a few different families, some that were couples that wanted to experience looking after a child before they had their own, some that had one kid and some that had five, yet I never lasted very long.

Maybe it was because I had been diagnosed with ADHD, or maybe it was because of my dyslexia, but no family seemed to want me to stick around for long, and soon, I began to realize it was _my fault_, that nobody wanted me.

I had to learn to tough it out by myself. To not fully trust anyone.

It wasn't unusual for me to sneak out the window to watch the stars shine from the roof, and that was where I found myself, watching a star die.

And as that star died, I realised how beautiful its death had been. It was more brilliant as it died than it had been every other time, and yet, it felt like I was the only one watching.

And if a star shining that brightly only had me to watch it glow it's brightest, then I needed to outshine the stars to prove myself in this world.

I needed to excel at something to show who I was, who I am.

But really?

I just wanted my parents, wherever they are to see me and say to everyone they know, "Have you heard about Astraea Jackson? You know she's my daughter,"

And then, it would all be worth it.

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><p><strong>AN: Review, please?**


	2. Yellow Dust

**A/N: Hey Guys! Here's the next chapter, I hope it doesn't disappoint any of you!**

**I had this finished a few days ago, but I had promised myself I was going to update every two weeks, provided that people were awesome enough to review so I know what I'm doing right or wrong!**

**Thanks to Minx The Shadow Thief who beta-ed this for me, and she did a great job in helping me to improve it!**

**Thanks to lighteningkid333, Wisegirl101, PadmeSkywalkerPercyAnnabeth, Black-Reaper-God, mrpuppy, Veronique Ruthven, Daughter-Of-Poseidon-16 and Riley Coyote for reviewing.**

**Come one guys, please review? Let's see if we can beat the eight I got for the prologue!**

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><p><em>I wasn't in my school dorm, but nor did I seem to be worried about where I was. I was in front of a large pine tree, green and vibrant. A golden fleece was hanging in the tree, and my first thought was that it was an old, ugly, abandoned jacket until the pile of cables in front of the tree moved, and I realized there was a dragon there. I backed away hurriedly, as a voice called softly in my ear.<em>

_"Astraea… come home to me…"_

_It was a nice sounding voice, but I pushed it out of my head and tried to take in the rest of my surroundings._

_The sky was a brilliant blue, and everything looked green and alive, apart from the group of cabins that were all decorated in different ways. I liked the look of a mostly grey one with white curtains. It looked like somewhere I could happily curl up, drawing up battle plans. My eyes were also drawn to a cabin that seemed to capture the essence of the sea itself. I started to make my way down to have a closer look. It didn't take long until I was in front of it. My hand reached for the handle and I started to open the door. Suddenly it flew open and-_

I opened my eyes and immediately squinted because of the harsh light. My roommate was up earlier than usual, way earlier than usual, and I had to rid myself of the urge to tell her to turn her light off. I didn't need an argument, nor did I need to deal with her crap today. Or any day really, but Carlotta hadn't seemed to get that memo yet.

It felt like I could still hear the voice from my dreams whispering in my ear, but I shook it off. I'd think about it later.

I tried to block the light out and fall asleep again, but my eyelids refused to shut properly, twitching and fluttering against my will. Finally, I gave and snapped them open. I sat up, throwing the covers off me and sliding out of my bed. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror across the room and winced. My blonde curls looked like a birds nest, and my green eyes were red and puffy from lack of sleep. Again, I fought the urge to snap at Carlotta. I didn't particularly care about looking pretty, but that didn't mean I liked looking like a mess.

I sighed, and grabbed my old, battered, first edition iPod from my bedside table to check the time.

4:57

That was just ridiculous. Why would Carlotta be up this early? Carlotta looked somewhat like a pig with squinty eyes, and short stringy hair - despite her very feminine name - and she mostly acted like one too. I couldn't even remember the last time Carlotta had been on time to first period, let alone awake at five in the morning.

And I'd been up late last night. Later than I'd intended to stay up, anyway. I wasn't planning on staying out till midnight, but I'd seen that star dying and had been completely entranced by the bright glowing. I hadn't been able to tear myself away.

I went over to my wardrobe to grab my uniform for the day, throwing Carlotta a dirty look as I did so. My dirty looks were something I prided myself on, and this one was a fairly decent one as well.

"You want something, Jackson?" she sneered, her face twisting into a scowl. Her scowl was ugly, but it still couldn't rival mine. I really wanted to tell her, 'yeah, your head on a platter' but that probably wouldn't have gone over too well with her. Fights were not a good idea, because one more little dispute would be the last straw and I'd find myself on my arse outside the front doors of the school with my bags thrown out after me, and between my ADHD and dyslexia I already had enough trouble finding a school that would take me, especially with my past history.

So I simply rolled my eyes and get changed, before collapsing back onto my bed. I had two and a half hours left before breakfast, which meant that I could think about the voice I'd heard in my dream. It had been obviously male, yet it sounded so familiar. And the whole dream had been so vivid; I almost could have thought it real. It wasn't surprising that I was attracted towards the cabin that looked like the sea. I always felt at home in water, it was where I could think in peace, with no intruding.

I looked at the time on my iPod again.

5:14

I still had ages… surely I could have a swim and change back before breakfast? I stood up quickly, and grabbed my bathers before exiting my room.

The walk to our pool seemed to take forever, and the darkness was eerie. I jumped at little noises, and I couldn't shake the feeling that someone or something was watching me. Once or twice I could have sworn I heard someone walking with a wooden leg or something, but when I glanced over my shoulder, no one was there.

It was a relief when I reached the pool doors. It was obviously not open, but the lights were on, and the pool cleaners were in the water.

I slipped through the door quietly and Mrs. Walters smiled at me. She was used to seeing me here in the early morning and she didn't have a problem letting me swim with the cleaners in.

"Hello Astraea," she greeted me softly.

"Hey Mrs. Walters," I replied quickly. "All right if I take a swim?"

"Sure," she answered. "Just don't knock the cleaners."

"I won't," I promised, before heading over to the changing rooms.

I quickly pulled my uniform over my head and pulled on my bathers, anxious to get in the water.

I didn't need goggles, I could see fine under water without worrying about it so I left the changing rooms after tying my long hair back and dived straight in.

The water had an effect on me instantaneously. I could almost feel every muscle in my body become stronger, and my mind became sharper, I could think through things so much more clearly.

I floated down till I was sitting on the floor, not caring about breathing. I could stay under water for about 10 minutes without breathing (that was as far as I'd pushed it) so I had plenty of time to think about my dream properly.

I thought back to every second of the dream so I could analyze it. Here under the water the dream seemed so much more important, and I figured that was worthy of consideration, yet it would probably be better to go through my dream in order and things about it as a whole later.

First things first: Why had I not been worried about not being in my dorm or at home? I didn't like the fact that I had felt calm there, almost relaxed. For somewhere I could not remember being I had let my guard fall dramatically.

Second thing: A dragon? That just didn't seem likely, yet the dream had felt so real. There is really not much more to add here, apart from the fact that it had looked like a pile of cables at first before changing into a dragon… yet not changing at the same time.

Third thing: Battle plans? Why on earth would I need to draw up battle plans? Yet in the dream I had stated it so matter-of-factly, as if it was something I did every other day.

And why was this dream so important? It was obvious that it wasn't in any way possible – piles of cables don't turn into dragons, they just don't. The Golden Fleece, wasn't that from Greek mythology? I had read a little of their mythology, but not so much that I should be dreaming about it.

Maybe I was just reading way too much into this, I tried to brush the dream off as I swam to the surface for air (I didn't want to freak Mrs. Walters out) but there was still a gut feeling about the dream which unsettled me.

My head broke the surface, and I pushed stray strands of hair out of my face. I was about to die down again when I heard a voice that was definitely not Mrs. Walters, nor was it Pete who was the only other person who knew that I came down here sometimes.

"Very impressive," sneered a girl who only looked a couple of years older than me, as she started clapping sarcastically. Her hair was bright red; it looked like it was ready to spontaneously burst into flame. "I would have expected better from the daughter of the Tidal God."

I was immediately confused. "Daughter of the who?" I asked her, raising an eyebrow skeptically.

She scowled. "Don't play innocent with me, brat, I know who you are!"

"Great," I called back to her. "Really, that's just fantastic, seeing as I have absolutely no clue!"

"I wouldn't be playing smart with me; you have no idea with whom you are messing with!"

I couldn't help but think to myself, no, I really don't.

I pulled myself out of the water quickly, faster than I would have thought possible.

She snarled at me, before lowering into a semi-crouch. I gulped audibly, looking around for any sort of help possible. I wasn't sure what exactly she was, but it obviously wasn't good.

I was concentrating hard on finding a way out when an arch of water shot out of the pool to form the shape of a pen. As I watched, the water seemed to solidify into black plastic.

"Whoa," I cried. "How the hell did that happen?"

"Your grandfather and his tricks," sneered the girl disdainfully. "No matter, as if you stand a chance against me!"

I still had no clue as to what she was, but I didn't like my chances with the black pen.

She crouched even lower, and my instincts were screaming at me to uncap the pen. I shrugged internally; it couldn't make this situation any worse. I uncapped the pen, and stared in amazement as it expanded to form a bronze sword.

"Whoa," I said again, staring down at it.

I noticed movement in my peripheral vision, and I realized, suddenly the girl had changed. Her red-hair had changed into flickering flames, and her legs… her legs were odd. One seemed to be made out of the same metal as my sword, while the other looked like an animal leg.

I didn't have much time to ponder that though as the creature took my distraction as her chance to leap. I screamed loudly as my sword slashed through the air, hoping against hope that I would be able to protect myself.

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><p><strong>AN: Do you reckon we can beat the eight?**


	3. Hallucinations?

**A/N: Hey everybody! It's been another two long weeks and here is chapter 2! We didn't quite manage to beat the 8 reviews from the prologue, I only got six last time! But I have 18 people on alert, so if everybody on alert took the time to tell me how much or if this story had improved, then we would beat the review count for the prologue and chapter 1 combined! So let's aim for that, alright?**

**Thanks to Minx The Shadow Thief for betaing this chapter for me, she has done a great job :)**

**And thanks to: Veronique Ruthven, percabethfanlover, Drew1969, lightningkid333, Daughter-Of-Poseidon-16 and Giripatnam for reviewing!**

**You all made my day!**

**See you guys on the eighth with chapter 3!**

**Eldest28**

**P.S: I will have my copy of SoN by then, I've already pre-ordered it :)**

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><p>My sword hit the thing's bronze leg as she leapt towards me. The resulting clang was a lot louder than I expected, and the ringing in my ears momentarily disoriented me. I barely noticed as she wheeled around and bared her teeth at me, hissing, and I quickly raised the sword again, fighting to keep any traces of panic off my face.<p>

"You're not getting off so easy, demi-god!" she spat, flames flickering around her face.

She jumped again, and her sharp nails raked along the blade of my sword, which I was sure would leave a scratch, but when I glanced down, the sword remained perfect, and unmarred. I didn't have too much to ponder that, as her eyes like coals were still glaring murderously at me.

"You can't win, demi-god! Your father's sword won't save you now!" she sneered at me, looking like a spoilt kid whose parent had told her she couldn't have a certain Barbie doll.

"You so sure about that?" I taunted, probably stupidly as she shifted subtly. As soon as I saw that, my brain seemed to go into overdrive, strategies and plans rushing into my mind, from no apparent source.

She glowered, and crouched down at me. My brain processed the information faster than I would have thought was possible, and I could see in my minds-eye how I was going to take her down. She sprang, and I feinted, aiming for her shoulder, before disengaging from her outstretched nails as she attempted to parry the sword on the seemingly indestructible surface that were her fingernails. As I disengaged I lunged forward, stabbing her through her heart which she had left temporarily unprotected.

As the blow struck her, she began to disintegrate, like sand in the wind. I started in shock as her body turned into yellow dust, the image of her murderous face with glaring eyes seared into my memory.

Had that really just happened? Had a strange girl-like thing just disintegrated like a sandcastle in the wind because I'd hit her with a pen that had turned into a sword?

I needed to put the sword away. There was some sort of rule here about dangerous weapons, and swords that could make monsters turn to dust were definitely classified as dangerous weapons.

Tentatively I touched the cap to the pen and watched in relief as it shrank back to a plain black ballpoint pen. That wouldn't cause any alarm if anybody saw it.

I was still staring at the dust in the pool when Mrs. Walters came in.

"Astraea," she gasped in alarm, her face disturbed as she looked around the room. "What did you do?"

I shook my head slowly. I still wasn't sure myself. "I don't know, Mrs. Walters, but I'll clean it up."

"Yes you will," she said sternly, the shock still not leaving her face. "I have no problem with you coming down here, but you are not to make a mess!"

"I know," I said, still somewhat dazed about the whole thing, trying to decide if it was a hallucination or not.

She walked back into the pool's office and I sighed to myself before grabbing the pool net and trying to scoop as much as possible out.

I made it to breakfast just in time, after cleaning the pool as best I could. The dust had seemed to evaporate after a while, but I still had to shower and change into my uniform. Pete was waiting at our usual table, frowning slightly, and he seemed to be… sniffing the air? I wasn't sure. As I came closer, his scowl deepened into great furrows on her forehead.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked, his scowl lightening up somewhat as he saw the look on my face.

"I think I'm hallucinating," I said weakly. It was more logical than the alternative… Girls didn't have flaming hair- nor did they have miss-matching legs.

Pete's eyes widened, almost as if he had been expecting this.

"Yeah?" he bleated, almost nervously. "What'd you see?"

I shook my head. I already thought I was crazy enough; I didn't need another person to confirm it.

Pete looked somewhat annoyed at my answer. Why was he so concerned about my fragile mental state?

"Astraea," he said urgently. "What did you see?"

I frowned. I really didn't want to tell him, especially now he was being almost rude.

"Nothing of importance," I retorted, before focusing on the cereal that he had gotten for me before I arrived.

I could tell Pete wasn't happy with me, but he didn't push it further and settled with just attempting to glare holes in the table.

I was sitting in English later, my one class without Pete with my head resting on one hand while I attempted to read the text. The words were floating off the page, letters mixing up their order as they floated, and it was beginning to give me a headache, as well as just frustrating me further.

I gave up after another five minutes of struggling to read, and put my hand up.

"Yes Astraea?" asked my teacher, Mr. Underwood, a calm and caring expression in his eyes.

"Can I go out for some air, Sir?" I asked, as my head began to pound in earnest. "I've got a headache."

"Sure," he said, looking at me sympathy. "Come up here so I can write you a hall pass."

I grabbed the black ballpoint pen from my pencil-case and shoved it in my pocket, just in case, before standing up and making my way to the front of the room.

"Are you okay?" asked Mr. Underwood as he filled out a green slip for me.

"Yeah," I said. "Fine."

Of course I wasn't, but Mr. Underwood didn't need to know that, nor did he need to hear about my crap day.

Mr. Underwood didn't look convinced, but he handed me the slip anyway and I quickly left the classroom, walking out into the corridor and making my way to the outside of the school.

It seemed to take forever, but finally I was stood outside of the school buildings, near the large, wrought iron front gates. My eyes were straying towards a comfortable looking park-bench that was in the middle of a tiny green park across the road.

It looked so inviting, like you could just sit there and think out your problems in peace. But I wasn't supposed to leave the school grounds, and all its concrete glory.

_Aw, heck_, I thought to myself, staring at the green grass of the small park that contrasted with the drab white around me. I'm only going to be there for a few minutes anyway, I reasoned.

So I walked straight through the school gates to go sit on the park bench, hoping that nobody could see me from the school. As soon I was at the bench I slumped down on it, placing my head in my hands. The fresh air helped clear my headache, and I started to feel better.

As I slowly relaxed, I started to wonder about Pete's reaction to my telling him I had hallucinated. It had been strange, and utterly unlike Pete to be so rude, and annoyed when I didn't tell him something. My thoughts lingered on that topic for a little while before I figured I should probably head back towards the school and my English class. I was just about to move when I heard a girl's voice calling out.

"Annabeth?" she sounded shocked, but I couldn't figure out who she was talking to. The whole side street was deserted, apart from me. I heard some low mumbling, like a group of girls were having a group discussion at normal volume some space away.

"Hey, Annabeth!" called the voice again, sounding closer this time. I looked up and around to try and find who she was talking too. I got a glimpse of blue eyes, black hair and a silver bow as I stood up, thinking I should be getting back to school.

"Wait!" called the girl, as I stood up and she came closer. I took another look back and saw that she was glowing faintly. That didn't look human. She took another step towards me, and I bolted, trying to put as much space between the girl and me. She reminded me way too much of the thing from this morning for me to stick around.

Any thought of school flew out of my head as I tore my way along roads and side streets, hearing many footsteps following me. I ran until I was panting form the effort, but I wasn't ready to give in. My pursuers were gaining on me, and I didn't think there was any way I was going to be able to get away.

Suddenly a hand grabbed the neck of my jumper, and I screamed before pulling out the pen and uncapping it, watching as the bronze sword exploded from the black plastic.

"Whoa!" yelled the girl who had my jacket and she let go. I got a better look at her as she turned around, she had a silver band sitting around her head, and I could see the freckles splattered across her nose. Her eyes were a more shocking blue than I had originally thought.

"You're not Annabeth," she said, staring at my face.

"Funny," I said, rolling my eyes. "I hadn't noticed."

She ignored my sarcasm, and her eyes then moved to the sword in my hand, narrowing as they did so.

"You have stolen from the gods," she stated coldly, looking up to glare at me.

"What damn gods!" I yelled. The sky thundered as I did so, but I kept going. "First I'm told I'm a daughter of a god, now I've stolen from one! What do you mean?"

A smaller girl stepped forward, one with no band around her head.

"Thalia… is that Anaklusmos?"

I started at the name Thalia, as it was my middle name. I shook it off quickly though, I needed to focus on the girls in front of me.

"Look," I said, attempting to be calm. "I have no idea what any of you are talking about. And what the hell is 'Anaklusmos'?"

The girl named Thalia stepped forward, scrutinizing my face.

"You look like a daughter of Athena," she said slowly. "But your eyes are wrong… I haven't seen those eyes in years…"

"Athena…" I said slowly. "Like, the Greek goddess?"

"Who are you?" she asked bluntly, ignoring my question.

"Astraea Jackson?"

It came out sounding like a question, which was not my intention. Her eyes widened as my name registered.

"J-J-Jackson?" she stuttered out. The girls behind her started whispering softly too each other.

I nodded, confused. Why was my last name so important? Did she know my mother or father? I opened my mouth to ask, but Thalia was already speaking again.

"We must talk to our lady," said Thalia, trying to sound calm, but I could hear the edge to her voice.

"Your lady?" I asked, not really expecting an answer, so I was completely surprised to get an answer.

"The Lady Artemis," said Thalia quickly. "Goddess of the Hunt. I am her lieutenant."

"What's with all the Greek stuff?" I asked, completely confused. "You do know that they're all just myths, right?"

The response to my statement was shocking. Frowns appeared on all of the girl's faces, and several hissed. Thalia just rolled her eyes and motioned towards the group of girls to be quiet.

"That's what you think," said Thalia condescendingly. "I assure you, they are all still alive and well."

"Prove it," I said boldly, staring at her intently.

"Oh for the love of Zeus…" she muttered under her breath. The sky thundered in response. "Oh get over it!" she yelled to the clouds, and I began to seriously wonder about her sanity.

"You have dyslexia," she started. I began to flush, what did my dyslexia have to do with anything. "The words just fly right off the page, don't they?"

I nodded my assent mutely. How was this relevant at all?

"Probably diagnosed with ADHD as well, you can never be still?"

Was she just trying to embarrass me? How did she know this? And why wouldn't she shut up about it?

"What's that got to do with it?" I asked. "And how do you know?"

She smiled, while all the girls with her sighed, as if it what she was about to say was something they had all heard before.

"I know because it happens to all of us," she said still smiling smugly. "And it's got to do with it because you're not fully mortal. Your dyslexia? Your mind's hardwired for ancient Greek. Your ADHD? It's your battle reflexes."

I was now gaping at her openly. I didn't even try to hide it.

"That's insane," I said. "It's just not humanely possible."

"Ah," she said. "But I told you you're not fully human."

"Then what am I?" I asked, my brain still not grasping what she was saying.

"You're a demi-god," she stated calmly. "Or a half-blood."

I wish I could say I took the news well. That I said 'cool' and went off to do whatever it is that demi-gods do. Instead, I started laughing hysterically.

The girls all rolled their eyes at me.

"That's funny," I gasped out between giggles. "Absolutely hilarious. And, how, exactly, do you know this?"

"Your last name's Jackson?" she asked, ignoring my laughing fit. I nodded.

"Yeah," I said. I'd already told her that, was she not listening?

"Well then," she said, smiling faintly as if she wasn't sure whether she should be or not. "I believe I know your father."

My laughter died abruptly.

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><p><strong>AN: C'mon guys, lets read and review alright? We're aiming for a PB!**


	4. Wait What?

**A/N: Hey everybody, I am so sorry this is late - it was unavoidable, and I will do my best to prevent it happening again. Someone (Daughter-Of-Poseidon-16) asked for more information about Astraea's appearance, which led my to create a deviantART profile for 02 in which my multi-talented sister will be coerced into drawing some pictures for me :) I also made a twitter account for 02, so follow that for updates about when pictures will be posted, or when new chapters will be.**

**Thanks to Minx The Shadow Thief for beta-ing this for me :)**

**Thanks to: percabethfanlover, lightning kid333, averagewriter, PJOseph, Eragon Northlake, LaughLoverCrystal, LegendOfZeldaFreak, IamDivergent, Veronique Ruthven, monica8807, Daughter-Of-Poseidon-16, lovetoread1998, rAnDoM-Lafing, does anyone really care, Monicamay and SeaweedbrainxWisegirl for reviewing.**

**Wow - 18 reviews we beat the PB (personal best) by TEN reviews, that is so amazing, I didn't stop smiling for a week!**

**Can we beat our new PB (18) this chapter?**

**Eldest28**

**P.S: Who has already read SoN? I read it in an hour :)**

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><p>"You <em>what<em>?" I asked, staring into Thalia's blue eyes, all traces of laughter gone.

"I believe I know your father," she said calmly, seemingly unconcerned with the fact that I felt like I was about to faint.

"You _believe_…" I asked, thinking over her words. "How much do you _believe _that exactly?"

Her brow furrowed a little, and I could tell she was thinking over my words. I tried to keep my face expressionless, not liking the looks on some of the girls faces, but I was sure some of my desperation to find out who my father was leaked onto my face.

Thalia's forehead seemed to smooth out, and I guessed she had come to a conclusion.

"Quite sure," she assured me. "I mean, you have Annabeth's hair, Percy's eyes, name, and you _are _carrying his blade."

There was that name again. 'Annabeth'.

"From your confusing explanation," I started, "Am I to assume Annabeth is my mother?"

"Yes," said Thalia, her eyes saddening, before she shook her head and focused her eyes on a spot over my head.

"Though," she muttered quietly, talking to herself, "That'd make you not just a demi-god, but you have ¾ of god blood…" Her voice grew louder, and her bright blue eyes moved to meet my green ones.

"How in the name of Hades have you not _died _yet?"

I stared at her affronted. "I'm sorry, would you _like _me to die? 'Cause I'm fairly sure that could be arranged…" Especially with the attack this morning, I added on mentally, though I didn't voice it.

She stared at me blankly. "But of course not," she said in a tone that didn't match her hair and piercing at all. "What would give you that impression?"

I just shook my head and looked at the ground. A million thoughts were racing around my head and I couldn't seem to focus on just one. While I was thinking I heard Thalia start to bark out orders, and I noticed the large group of girls move away.

"Where are they going?" I asked her.

"Setting up camp," she replied. "And you're staying with us for a while."

I wasn't done with my questions quite yet.

"How did you know my mother?" I asked.

Thalia's looked at the ground, and moisture formed in the corner of her eyes.

"She was my best friend," she said, looking up at my face. "I guided her to camp… well, with someone else."

Her tone as she added that last bit told me that was not something to inquire about.

"I guess that's where I got my name from…" I muttered to myself. It wasn't just a name picked out because my mother liked it.

Thalia looked at me. "What did you say?" she asked quickly.

"Oh," I said. "I just said that I was named after you."

Thalia gave me a funny look, almost as if she was calculating my mental capacity.

"My name's Thalia Marie Grace," she said slowly, as if talking to a toddler. "How do you get Astraea from that?"

I rolled my eyes at her. Did she really think I was that stupid?

"I meant my middle name is Thalia. If you were my mother's best friend, I would say I was named after you."

"Oh," said Thalia taken aback. "I guess that makes sense…"

She trailed off, and I decided to use that time to ask her my next question.

"Hang on," I said quickly, just thinking of something. "You said you were my mother's best friend – but you're barely three years older than me!"

She smirked at my response.

"I'm immortal; all of Artemis' hunters are…"

"Cool," I said, staring at her in amazement. I guessed that explained the faint glow they all seemed to have. My thoughts grew off track though, and I was soon thinking about something she had said earlier.

"You said you knew my father?" I asked quickly.

Her eyes were immediately guarded, and I wondered why.

"I said I _believe _I did."

She said 'believe' with real attitude, almost condescending.

"Fine then; who do you _believe _he is?"

Thalia was quiet then, staring contemplatively at my face, as if she was deciding whether or not to tell me what she suspected, or maybe she just didn't like my attitude, either or.

"Well,' she said, making her decision." I think your father is Perseus Allen Jackson, Greek God of the Tides."

Now it was my turn to stare at her as if _she _were stupid. What Greek god of the Tides?

"Sorry, I'm sure you thought you could fool me, but _there is no such god!_ Poseidon was the god of the sea, if that's what you mean."

My tone was sarcastic, almost rude, and I wished I could take it back; I shouldn't have been speaking to my mum's friend like that.

"No," said Thalia, getting impatient with me. "I meant _Percy_, who was Poseidon's demi-god son, until he saved Olympus and was offered immortality."

I was so focused on the fact that she was telling me that my father was a god that I almost missed the bitter tone she used when saying the word 'immortality'.

"Whoa…" I said. Maybe this was a dream… this can't be real. "You're saying I'm… half-god?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying, but the official term is demigod… but in your case, it may be slightly different," Thalia's voice trailed off.

"This is just too weird," I said to myself. "This can't be happening."

"Oh it is," Thalia assured me. "You'll be staying with us for a little while; I think I should take you to camp before I introduce you to our Lady, all things considered. Also, I have a few questions for you, if that's okay?"

"You," I started. "Have questions… for me?"

"Yes," answered Thalia, sounding like she was very tired of repeating herself. "I have questions for you. Such as, has a glowing green symbol ever appeared above your head?"

It seemed like a weird question, but after the day I'd had, I didn't think twice about it. I thought back to all the strange things that had happened to me in the past.

"No," I said slowly "I don't think so…"

"Okay, then," said Thalia to herself. "I guess you are only 12…" Her voice got louder. "Do you have a friend with a weird muscle disease?"

"_Pete?"_ I said, completely taken aback. "What has _Pete _got to do with this?"

"Oh everything," said Thalia with a small smile. "I'll let him explain when he gets here."

My throat went dry.

"You're not going to… hurt him, are you?" I asked nervously. "I mean, he's not like a monster, is he?"

"No," said Thalia. "Quite the opposite actually. Do you know what date your mother died and where she's buried? It's been killing me not to know…"

"My mother's dead?" I gasped. Even though there had been all the signs – Thalia talking about her using the past tense, the tears in her eyes when talking about her – I hadn't really focused on it much. Being told that your father's a god can do that to you.

Thalia looked at me puzzled.

"I was assuming you knew that… she died about 12 years ago – when you were born."

I stared at her. This didn't make sense at all. I was dropped at the orphanage when I was two, by my mother. That was only ten years ago. None of this was adding up. It couldn't add up. My mother couldn't be dead.

"But I was two when I was placed on the orphanage – by her. They just said that she had told them she was unable to look after me."

Thalia looked disturbed, but she wiped her face as blank as possible before she started speaking again.

"We need to talk to my Lady, however she is busy at the moment so that we'll have to wait for a little while. Also the real reason you should go to camp first, is that, since both your mother or father weren't exactly fans of the Hunters, and as much as I would love you to join, you should know what you're giving up first."

Thalia said it all really fast, as if she wasn't proud of what she was saying and just wanted to spit it out as fast as possible.

"Um, sure…" I said. "But can I speak to my father? I haven't met him yet."

"You haven't met him?" asked Thalia, looking shocked. "But how did you get that sword?"

"It appeared out of the water in the pool when I was- I mean, this morning."

Thalia gave me a piercing look, that was very unsettling, especially because of her blue eyes. She didn't push me to tell the truth, even though I was sure she knew I had lied.

"Well," she said. "You'll have to wait to talk to him, I'm afraid. God's make the decisions, not us lowly demi-gods."

She said the last part sarcastically, and I was beginning to see more of her character, not the charade she seemed to always have put on.

"Let's go back to the camp while we wait for Pete to arrive… speaking of which, I still need to send someone to go get him."

I followed Thalia back to where the group of girls had now set up a group of faintly glistening silver tents, like the essence of the moon itself was used in the making of these.

"You can stay in mine for now," Thalia told me, while making frantic hand gestures to a large girl. "Phoebe will share with someone else for a while."

I didn't really want to take someone's bed from them, but I didn't really want to argue with Thalia, as she had at least 20 years of experience on me, and, she seemed nice, if a little sarcastic, and who isn't sarcastic nowadays?

So I followed her a little more to a space that was in the middle of the camp's circle and pulled out a small box with she opened up into a full-sized, glowing, silvery tent like the others.

"Wow,' I said, gazing at the large tent which had sprung from the tiny box. "That is so cool."

Thalia gave me a smile. "You get used to it after a while, but yeah, I thought it was cool at first. C'mon, let's go talk to the other campers, but keep your sword on you."

I wasn't going to let go of the sword no matter what. I trusted Thalia somewhat, but I didn't trust anyone else, and I had just found out that blade was my father's, which made it all the more important.

I nodded my head in response to Thalia's question and followed her as she made her way to where the girls were all standing around, some chatting, other's organizing bows, arrows and the like.

"Phoebe?" asked Thalia, speaking to the girl she had motioned to before. "Can you, Lily and Marlene go and fetch the satyr from the school?"

Phoebe groaned, as did two girls who I figured were Lily and Marlene. One had red hair while the other had brown, and they both stood, frowning slightly as they did so.

"But satyrs are so annoying…" moaned the red-headed one.

"Deal with it, Lily," said Thalia, a sharp edge to her voice. "It must be done."

"Yeah, yeah," muttered Marlene and Lily as they left the camp, following Lily.

"They shouldn't take too long, Astraea, you can see your friend, Pete, did you call him?"

"Yeah," I said half-dazed. "Did you say he was a _satyr_?"

"Yes," said Thalia, frowning slightly. "I already told you the myths were real."

"You mean Pete's half-goat!" I asked, not listening to what Thalia said.

"Oh this is way too much to process," I said faintly, slumping to sit in a heap on the ground.


	5. Start Of The Journey

**A/N: Hey Guys. It's been a while, huh? THis chapter is very short. But I'm hoping you will overlook that! I would like to thank everybody who reviewed chapter 3! I can't go through and put up every name this time, but rest assured I shall do it for chapter 4! I will not be updating on a routine basis, but rather as I go to take some pressure off. Please forgive any minor errors in this chapter, it hasn't been beta-ed. if someone would like to volunteer for the job I'll be eternally grateful! I have 44 people on alerts, so how about 44 reviews *wink*? But honestly, inspiration is soooo important now, I cannot stress how much! If you would like something else to read *shameless plugin* please check out my stories on FictionPress and WattPad (under the same penname). And please follow on Twitter for updates on how I'm going and links to pics. I'll follow back, I swear. FebBabes02. (I don't know if that'll show up so here it is with spaces in between - FebBabes 02)**

**One last thing, if anybody is creative and would like to create a cover for this story, please email it to february . babes 02 gmail. com. It would be amazing.**

**That's it for now. Please read and review?**

**Eldest28**

* * *

><p>By the time Pete arrived I was sitting down quite comfortably, mostly over the shock that my best friend was half donkey – I mean goat.<p>

Him being half animal didn't stop me laughing hysterically at the way he acted around the Hunters. He was fawning all over them, I wouldn't be surprised if he got down on one knee, apart from the whole 'no boys for eternity' thing on the Hunter's part. I could tell that even though he was a satyr, not just a mortal male or demigod male his presence was already annoying the Hunters.

His arrival had been the funniest thing I had seen in a long while – no, scratch that, the Hunters who had been sent to get him, their expressions were the funniest thing.

"_Are you sure you don't need any help at all?" Pete had practically begged. "These musclier legs aren't just for show."_

_The redhead's – Lily's – expression was priceless. Crossed between exasperation and violence, she looked like she was itching to strangle Pete._

"_Satyr!" she snapped. "We are perfectly capable!"_

_Pete's face fell slightly, and he quickly backtracked._

"_Yeah! I know that," he assured her, his face beginning to take on the qualities of an annoying puppy. "It's just good manners to offer a lady help!"_

"_Yeah," muttered Marlene under her breath, casting a sidelong glance at Lily. She seemed to be trying to stay out of it – or maybe she just didn't want Lily's rage inflicted upon her. I wasn't quite sure. "Maybe the first time it was…"_

"_Do I look like I am helpless?" snapped Lily, her face beginning to flush a deep red – and not because she was embarrassed or shy. To prevent any unfortunate and avoidable deaths, Thalia quickly intervened._

"_You're back," she said cheerfully. "No trouble?"_

"_None at all, Ma'am," said Pete, his face full of awe. "It was fantastic!"_

_Thalia's face twitched slightly, as if she was going to smile, and it dawned on me that Thalia seemed very different from the rest of the Hunters. _

Pete had calmed down slightly since then, but not by much. The Hunter's had finished setting up their campsite immediately, and had settled into smaller groups of twos and threes, laughing and giggling. I noticed Thalia didn't seem to join them, and I sat down next to her.

She didn't look up at me, but she spoke anyway.

"A lot to take in, huh?"

I nodded my head, before realising she wasn't watching.

"Yeah." There wasn't really anything else to say, so we sat in silence for a while, her silver circlet glowing slightly.

It was about an hour later that I spoke.

"About the whole 'Greek god' thing… what exactly did you mean by me being three quarters god?"

Thalia turned to look at me, her blue eyes unblinking and fixed upon mine.

"Remember how I told you about demi-gods?"

"Yeah," I affirmed.

"Well, you're not exactly a demi-god," she began. I recalled her mentioning that before, but I hadn't really been paying that much attention – I had been too overwhelmed by everything else.

"Well you're… different," started Thalia. "I mean, you're not half god, because your mother was a demi-god, and your father was a god when you were… conceived."

She pulled a slightly disgusted face – an expression that I was fairly sure matched my own. I didn't want to think about my parents doing any act resulting in creation of me, and I could tell Thalia felt the same.

Thalia shook her head slightly, and went on.

"So, you're not just a demi-god, but a three quarter god, so you're very powerful… what I don't understand is why more monsters haven't hunted you out."

I wasn't quite sure what she meant about the monsters, but I was now pretty curious about my father. I mean, who wouldn't be? I'd found out the guy was a god today.

"You said my father was offered immortality…"

I made the statement into a question.

"Yes," answered Thalia slowly, her expression closed.

I decided to push just a little further.

"Why?"

"He… saved the world," said Thalia quietly.

"Whoa… that is so cool!" I said. I was sure my eyes must be as wide as saucers. "How?"

"I don't really want to talk about it!" snapped Thalia. I immediately felt guilty.

"I'm sorry," I said quickly. "It's just-"

"I know," said Thalia cutting me off, her tone apologetic. "And I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped. I can't talk about it. You can ask someone at camp."

My eyes strayed to Pete sitting by the fire quietly.

"Does Pete know?" I asked her.

"Maybe," she replied. "Probably. But I doubt he knows the full story. It'd be better to ask someone else."

Thalia was probably right. We sat and stared in silence again, until I broke it. This time, with questions about her.

"What's it like being a Huntress?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"It's great!" replied Thalia, her eyes bright and happy. "I love it. We get to travel a lot, see the world, and hunt monsters. I can't imagine not being a Huntress…"

"So how come Artemis isn't with you?" I enquired. "I got the impression she usually hunts with you."

"Oh she does," Thalia assured me. "She had a meeting to attend on Olympus."

"Sounds fun…" I replied, sarcasm evident in every syllable.

"Very enjoyable," agreed Thalia, her voice containing just as much sarcasm as mine.

She threw a glance my way, and I couldn't help myself. Giggles welled up in me and overflowed until we were both giggling like crazy. It was nice. I felt like a normal 12 year old girl. You know, apart from all the godly parents and monsters and half animal best friends. Completely normal.

When the giggles finally subsided, Thalia stood up, offering me a hand and pulling me up as well.

"Come on," she said. "We've got a bit to travel tomorrow."

We woke early the next morning. Pete was noticeably bleary-eyed and stumbled about quite a bit like a drunk. Eventually I'd had enough (as had many others) and we sat him down out of the way to snore quietly while we packed up the campsite. I didn't know what to do, so I just followed instructions, helping out as much as I could.

When everything had been packed up, ready to leave, Thalia stood at the front of the group.

"We'll be making our way to Camp Half-Blood today," she started. She had to pause there for a while, as there were many loud groans and protests from her sisters. "We were due for a visit anyway," she reminded them. "We'll just have to make sure we cream them at Capture the Flag."

There were a few 'Don't we always?' from the girls, but Thalia wasn't done yet.

"I want to get Astraea there fast," Thalia added. "That's why Phoebe, Lily, Marlene and Astraea will be taking a taxi while the rest of us will journey on foot as we're not too far away."

"What about the satyr?" asked Lily, her eyes narrowed.

"I'd forgotten about him," muttered Thalia.

Sensing, I'm guessing, the murder in Lily's eyes, Thalia quickly said,

"The satyr will journey with the rest of us."

Lily looked relieved. I was slightly upset. I would've like my best friend to come with me, but with Lily around maybe it wasn't in his best interests.

Marlene turned to me.

"Shall we go?" she asked.

"Yeah," I nodded my head. "Let's go."


End file.
